By Alvin Halimwidjaya

Fordham University’s Under the Tent is one example of how Fordham students celebrate their time together. (Courtesy of Fordham Rose Hill RHA)

Look, hear me out. Fordham University definitely has problems that it needs to deal with. We’re constantly hearing about the administration’s mistakes, everyone hates their freshman dorm unless they’re in Queen’s Court or Loyola and the food is absolutely despicable (that last one is an absolute fact, as our school is consistently at the top of the worst on-campus food rankings).

However, that’s not what I’m here to talk about. Students love to nitpick on Fordham’s pitfalls so much that we often forget how much Fordham does for us in the first place. To go to a private university in New York is obviously an immense privilege, but even putting that aside, there’s plenty that Fordham provides for a college student.

When I first got to New York in freshman year, I was a little worried. There’s always one thing that just hits you in a new city you’ve just moved to, and for me it was cars blasting music. My first trip to the D train a week or so into Global Transition, cars just kept driving by and blaring hip-hop and reggaeton out of their speakers; I was in awe. That’s when living in New York really started for me.

I love complaining about Fordham as much as the next student, but I can’t deny that I’ve fit in a lot better here at Rose Hill than I would have anywhere else.
When I was a junior in high school, I wanted to go to Syracuse because it was “close to the city,” and “just as cold as anywhere else;” suffice it to say I would not have survived. Before I chose Fordham, I was heavily considering Portland State; if you know me, can you imagine me as a hipster? Walking around campus with a mason jar listening to The Wombats?

The point is that Fordham’s done a lot from me; consequently, I came up with my three favorite things about Fordham. The first item on that list is absolutely going to be the off-campus food we have access to. From living on Pugsley’s wings and penne slices freshman year to living on Kennedy’s Fried Chicken… well, every year, the food I can find five minutes away from Fordham has mostly made up for its terrible cafeteria food (those cardboard pizza slices haunt me to this day). I haven’t even begun to count the number of times that I’ve ordered sushi and met up with the same delivery guy over the past four years.

Restaurants in Manhattan definitely provide the classic New York experience, but these three places have made their way into my heart with food that is just as comforting as it is unhealthy.

Next on the list for me is Spring Weekend, specifically freshman year and this year.

I can still hear Mr. Teddy Pain himself singing his iconic tune “Buy You a Drank (Shawty Snapping),” and you can still find the YouTube video of my hand slamming into someone’s phone during Twenty One Pilots’ performance of “Migraine.” Those two concerts have bookended a great run of Spring Weekends concerts through my time at Fordham, and honestly, I’m pretty sure that I enjoyed the Timeflies era on Martyr’s Lawn as well.

Under the Tent only adds to the weekend’s memories, as I can’t remember a single time that I did not have fun at Fordham’s marquee Spring Weekend event. Rose Hill always builds up an obnoxious amount of hype leading up to the occasion, but it’s honestly a great time, regardless of which artist we didn’t get or how hard it is to match with Under the Tent’s theme every year.

There are definitely a bunch of things that you can appreciate about Fordham, but it really comes down to the people you’re with, and I’ve had the pleasure of spending four years with the right people. Moving to a new country from Indonesia was much easier with the friends I found in Queen’s Court.

I would have never had a chance to interview WNBA players at Madison Square Garden and play my favorite songs on live radio without the people at WFUV.
Writing and copy editing for The Fordham Ram has given me a chance to work with great content and incredible people (except Jack McLoone, he sucks). I could go on for another entire opinion article listing the people who’ve made Fordham the best time for me, but I would not be where I am at Fordham, nor would I be happy at Fordham, without them.

Alvin Halimwidjaya, FCRH ’18, is a communications major from Jakarta, Indonesia.